Machine for delivering and affixing postage-stamps and the like.



C. A. H. BULLOCK.

MACHINE FOR DELIVERING AND AFFIXING POSTAGE STAMPS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, I9II.

COLUMBIA PLANOFIRAPH 17., WASHINGTON, n cv PatntedJuly 20,1915. v

entrain snares PA E W CHARLES ASHTON HENRY BULLOCK, OF LONDON, ENGLAND..

MACHINE FOR DELIVERING AND AFFIXING POSTAGE-STAMPS AND THE LIKE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1-, CHARLES ASHTON HENRY BULLOCK, of London, in the county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Delivering and Affixing Postagethan those hitherto proposed and the invention comprises various important features of novelty which will hereafterbe more particularly described. and set. forth in the claims.

Among these primarylfeatures of the invention may be specifically mentioned the feeding device wherein when the plunger is depressed the stamp strip is automatica-lly gripped and fed forward the required dis tance, a pin or tooth preferably adapted to always spring backto a definite'point automatically operating in conjunction with the perforations in the stamp strip' toregulate and correct the feed. Secondlythe damp- H ing device is important, the essential feature of which damping device is that jets or sprays of moisture are intermittently ejected from the machine in such a manner and in such a direction that the moisture. is sprayed onto the adhesive side of the stamp to be afliXed as the stamp moves into position for afixing.

Another feature consists of the particulararrangement of the plunger pad which presses the damped. stamp on: to the surface to which it is to be applied, the arrangement being such that instead of a vertical pressure only being available. there is a slight horizontal movement of the pad such as will cause a more firm adherence. I

Another feature consists of the means for preventing pilfering from the machine and this consists of a'device which, if any attempt is made to withdraw astamp without operating the plunger, pierces and damages the stampand makesit necessary for the Specification of Letters Patent.

machine to be opened to set itin working order again.

The invention moreover comprises the I PatentedJnly 2Q, 1915. A plication filed November 13, 1911. Serial No. 680,014. i i

construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter set forth.

' In order. that the invention maybe readily understood and carried into practice, reference is hereby made to the accompany ng drawings which illustrate a complete machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

In these drawings Figure 1 is a sectional F 2, is a sectional plan view, thesection being taken on line A A ofFig, 1.1 Figl'3 illustrates to a largerscale the arrangement of the plun gerpadl and severing knife. Figs. 4: and

elevational viewof the inachine.

5 are perspective views of details also drawn to a larger scale than Figs. land 2, while F g. 6 shows a modification of an important,

movement.

Referring to these drawings wherein like numerals of reference indlcate correspond 7 ing parts wherever occurring the numeral 1 designatesthefmachine plunger which slides in an opening 2 in the casing 3 and.

is adapted to normallyj'adopt its highest position under the influence of a spring,

suc'hffor. instance. as the spring 1. Rigidly secured in a suitable manner to'the plunger.

1 a feed grip 5 isprovided. This grip 5 is spring controlled preferably. by the re-: 'SlllGIlCY of the arm 6 so that its rubber or I upon yielding face 7 always tends tojpress the surface with whichit contacts.

The numeral. 8 designates. the guidedowir which the stamp strip 9 passes from the, roll lOwhich is carriedupon the spindle l1 and is housed within thefjcircular, extension of the mach ne cas1ng. Normally the face 7 of the'feeding. grip .5 ishelcl away from the stamp strip by reason ofthe pins 12 rest ing on the side blocks 13.; When however the plunger 1 is depressed the pins 12' leave the block 13 and the face 7 fallson to the stamp strip and grips it in conjunction with the guide 8 'orfa sliding carriage 14. That is to say, the strip is firinlygripped between the face "of the gripping device .5; land the guide fi'or'a gripping piece such as 15301; the .carri'agel i. As i the stamp strip. is.

grippedjthepins or'the like 16 upon the ends "of'the spring" arms 17 which normally engage in the perforations of the stamp strip are lifted out of these perforations by reason of the pins 12 engaging the blocks 17 on the arms 17. Immediately the pins 12 leave the blocks 17 that is when the stamp strip has been moved forward a short distancethe pins 16 contact with the stamp strip in readiness to spring into the next row of perforations, and the stamp strip is free to move and as the plunger 1 continues its descent the strip is moved f0rward and a stamp is ejected through the slot 19 in the member 20. W hen however a complete stamp has been extended through this slot 19 the pin 16 will enter the neXt set of perforations in the stamp strip and prevent further movement and the knife 21 carried upon the bottom of the plunger will sever the stamp. The spring 17 is preferably anchored by a spring such as 16 so that the stamp strip can be fed a little too far at each operation, the carriage let moving back to insure correct feeding under all conditions.

When the feeding grip 5 has traveled downward sufficiently to eXtrude one or a length equal to a little more than one stamp through the mouth of the slot 19, the pins 12 make contact with stationary inclines 60. The feeding grip 5 continues to travel downward but is lifted from the surface of the stamp in consequence of the action of the pins 12 which are forced to the right of their previous vertical course by said inclines 60 along which they travel until they have passed the spring points 61. The spring points 61. consist of leaf springs riveted or otherwise secured to stationary rails 62 which may be connected to the side of the machine. The leaf springs are shown extending along the whole length of the rails 62 of which they form the tread although they need not do so. The pins 12 in passing the points 61 lift them. The points immediately spring back against the inclines 60. On the return movement the pins 12 are compelled to pass along the right hand side of the rails 62 by the spring points 61, the resilient arm 6 yielding to permit them so to do. The feeding grip 5 is held free of the stamp strip by said rails 62 until it reaches a point opposite the side blocks 13. The pins 12 then run off the upper end of the rails 62 and return to the position shown. While however the feeding forward of the stamp is taking place the damping of the stamp will have been effected in the following manner: The plunger 1 carries a rack 22 and as this rack 22 descends with the plunger it engages the pinion or ratchet wheel 28 and this pinion 23 is thus caused to rotate. In contact with the teeth of the pinion or ratchet 23 one end 24 of a lever 25 is arranged after the fashion of a pawl. The lever 25 is pivoted at 26 and its end 27 depends into the tank 28. The pivot 26 is preferably of some length and well fitted so as to prevent any leakage even if the machine is inverted. The extremity of the depending end 27 of this lever 25 is connected to a sliding plunger carrier 29 and this plunger carrier 29 has at its free end a rubber or other yielding plunger 80, the plunger 30 normally closing the jets or nozzles 31 arranged in the bottom of the tank. The nozzles 31 are so located and bored in such a direction that the moisture ejected through them is sprayed on to the under adhesive surface of the stamp which is being fed forward through the slot 19. The movement of the ratchet 28 causes a vibration of the lever 25 and thus the plungers 30 are intermittently oscillated and water flows from time to time to the nozzles or jets 31 as the plunger 30 withdraws and the water in front of this plunger 30 is then ejected through the nozzles or jets as the plunger flies out again. It will be readily understood that at each depression of the machine plunger 1 a number of separate ejectments of moisture is taking place in the same direction, the ejectments starting when the stamp commences to protrude through the slot 19 into position to receive the moisture. It thus follows that the moisture will be sprayed in definite jets and as the stamp travels to its final position the moisture will be applied to the adhesive surface of the stamp in an even and definite manner. The damped stamp is then cut off by the knife 21 as it passes the slot 19 and simultaneously the stamp will be pressed on to the envelop or other desired surface arranged beneath it. The pad 32 which presses the stamp on to the envelop or the like is as aforesaid of special construction and operates in a particular manner. This pad is pivoted at 83 to the lower end of the plunger 1 and by means of the spring at or some other suitable yielding device it normally adopts an angle to the horizontal as shown. The efiect of this is that almost simultaneously with the severing of the stamp by the knife 21 the edge 35 of the pad contacts with the side of the stamp remote from the severed edge. The continued descent of the plunger 1 causes the pad to gradually come into the horizontal position and thus the stamp is mixed by a horizontal movement and a vertical pressure, and it will be readily apparent that this is the movement required to cause a firm adhesion of the damped stamp upon the surface. Moreover this particular movement of the pressing pad has the advantage that the air between the stamp and the surface to which it is to be applied is expelled gradually as the pad approaches the horizontal and thus there is no danger of an air bubble becoming imprisoned beneath the stamp. Of course upon releasing the plunger the whole of the working parts return to the normal position ready for the next operation and it should perhaps be mentioned that the construction shown of the ratchet and lever operating the damping.

device is such that on the return movement no ejection of moisture takes place.

In order to prevent any possibility of drawing the strip out through the slot 19 a mutilating device is provided. This device consists of an arm or arms 37 having harpoon or fish hook ends 38' and this arm projects toward the stamp strip but normally there is no contact between it and the stamp strip. In the ordinary legitimate operation of the machine the strip can proceed around the curved lower end of the stamp strip guide 8 without contacting in any way with the mutilation arm 37 but if any attempt is made to pull the strip through the slot 19 the strip immediately tends to straighten out and immediately this occurs the hinged members 39 upon the guide 8 move about the hinges 40 and the stamp strip becomes impaled upon the harpoon end 38 of the arm 37 and thus mutilation of the stamp must take place and the machine is thusfor the momentput out of action.

In order to prevent the foward edge of the stamp strip catching as might occur if the stamp curled, I provide a clearing arm 41 which is connected to a pinion 42. A

rack 43 gears with this pinion and the rack is carried upon a member or plate such as 44 provided with a cam slot 45 in which a pin 46 associated with the machine plunger operates. The operation is so timed that as the stamp moves into position the pinion 42 rotates on account of the rack 43 being moved by the operation of the pin 46 in the cam slot 45. The arm 41 connectedwith the pinion 42 sweeps beneath the stamp and the details of construction of the machine.

can be varied in many ways without departure from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In stamp delivery and affixing machines, a stamp affixing plunger, a strip gripping device carried by said plunger and normally free of the stamp strip, a regulating device having pins normally engaging perforations of the stamp strip, means automatically op- 2. In stamp delivery -and afiixing. ma

chines, a stamp jaffix-ingplunger, a strip gripping devicecarried by said plunger and normally free of the stamp strip,-aregulat-' ing device'having pins normally engaging perforations of the stamp strip, :means, automaticallytoperating upon the descent of theplungerto cause theflregul'ating device' to 851 freeitself from the stamp strip and the gripping device to grip the, stamp strip-and feed it forward therequireddistance, means for, causing thefeed regulating, device to again a engage the perforationsin the stafmplstrip when a stamp hasbeen fed forward, means operated by the stamp affixing plunger for 1 causing theejection ofmoisture on to the under adhesive surface of the stamp, a1 severing device operated by said plunger, and an== affixing device operated, by saidplunger, substantially as specified, v 3. In stamp delivery and affixing machines, a stamp affixing plunger, a strip gripping device carried by said plunger and nor-.

mally free of the stampstrip, a regulating device having pins normally engaging perforations; of the stamp strip', means automatically operating upon the descent of the plunger to causethe regulating device 00,

free itselffrom the stamp strip and the gripping device to grip'the stamp strip and feed it forward the required d-istance,"means for causing theufeed regulating device to again engage the perforationsin the stamp strip When a stamp has been fed forward, means operated by the stamp affixing plunger for causing intermittentejectment of moisture on to the under adhesive surface of the stamp, a serving device, and ,anzaflixing device, substantially as specified.v

4. In stamp delivery and affixing machines, a stamp affixing plunger, strip gripping device carried by said plunger and normally free of the stamp strip, a regulat- 3 ing device having pins normally engaging perforations of the stamp strip, means automatically operating upon the descent of the plunger to cause the regulating device to free itself from the stamp strip and the gripping device to grip the stamp strip and feed it forward the required distance, means for causing the feed regulating de vice to again engage the perforationsin the stamp strip when a stamp has been fed for- Ward, a damping device, a severing device, a pivoted stamp affixing pad actuated by the plunger, and a spring causing said pad to normally lie at an angle, substantially as specified.

5. A stamp afiixing machine, comprising a stamp affixing plunger, means operated by the stamp aflixing plunger for feeding one stamp of the strip into the affixing position, means for severing and affixing the stamp, and means operated by the stamp affixing plunger for causing the intermittent ejection of moisture onto the under adhesive surface of the moving stamp as it moves into the affixing position and after it has passed through the severing device, substan tially as specified.

6. In stamp delivery and afiixing machines, a stamp affixing plunger, a strip gripping device carried by said plunger and normally free of the stamp strip, a regulating device having pins normally engaging perforations of the stamp strip, means automatically operating upon the descent of the plunger to cause the regulating device to free itself from the stamp strip and the gripping device to grip the stamp and feed it forward the required distance, means for causing the feed regulating device to again engage the perforations in the stamp strip when a stamp has been fed forward, a mutilation device normally free of the stamp strip but adapted to pierce and'mutilate said stamp strip when tension is applied to the free end of the stamp strip, a damping device, a severing device, and an affixing device, substantially as specified.

7. A stamp delivery and affixing machine, comprising in combination, a stamp affixing plunger, means for causing the intermittent ejectment of moisture onto the adhesive surface of the stamp, a severing device, a strip tensioning device, and a regulating device adapted to feed the stamp strip forward the required distance and into position for severing and affixing, and adapted to feed said stamp into position to protect the severing and affixing means from the moisture ejected onto the stamp.

8. A stamp delivery and affixing machine comprising in combination, a stamp affixing plunger, a strip tensioning device carried by said plunger and normally free of the stamp strip, a regulating device having pins normally engaging perforations in the stamp strip, means automatically operating upon the descent of the plunger to cause the regulating device to free itself from the stamp strip, a gripping device to grip the stamp and feed it forward the required distance, means for causing the feed regulating device to again engage the perforations in the stamp strip after a stamp has been fed forward, a mutilation device normally free of the stamp strip but adapted to pierce and mutilate said stamp when tension is applied to the free end of the stamp strip, means for damping the stamp after it has left the working mechanism of the machine, and means for feeding the stamp into a position whereby the working parts of the machine are protected from the moisture of the damping device, operated by the said aflixing plunger.

9. In a stamp delivering and affixing machine, a stamp affixing plunger, a strip gripping device carried by said plunger and normally free of the stamp strip, a regulating device having pins normally engaging perforations of the stamp strip, means automatically operating upon the descent of the stamp aflixing plunger to cause the said regulating device to free itself from the stamp strip and the gripping device to grip the stamp strip and feed it forward the required distance, means for causing the feed regulating device to again engage the perforations in the stamp strip when a stamp has been fed forward, a device for severing the stamp, means operated by the said stamp affixing plunger for causing the ejection of moisture after said stamp has passed through the severing device and as it moves into the affixing position, and an affixing device actuated by said plunger, substantially as specified. v

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES ASHTON HENRY BULLOCK.

Witnesses EDWARD A. EVE, H. D. JAMnsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

